The New Spice Trade

Indian food is indeed Britain's favourite! No wonder! Thanks to Bruce Palling of online.wsj.com for this nice article.
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Britain's relationship with Indian food has been a long love affair. Curry recipes were published in England as far back as the mid-18th century and the first Indian restaurant (the Hindoostane Coffee House) opened in London in 1810. Queen Victoria was an early devotee, having a staff of Indian cooks and even commissioning Indian-themed rooms at Osborne House, her royal residence on the Isle of Wight.



Currently, Indian restaurants in Britain outnumber those of any other culinary style and chicken tikka masala is reputed to be the country's favorite dish. While there is considerable controversy about the authenticity of this and other British-Indian staple dishes such as mutton vindaloo, it hasn't affected the growing recognition of top Indian restaurants by the British culinary establishment. The latest U.K. Michelin Guide awarded a total of five stars to Indian restaurants in London, ranking them second after French establishments, tied with Italian.

The success of these Modern Indian chefs isn't confined to Britain. Less than a year ago, Vineet Bhatia, whose Rasoi restaurants in London and Geneva have a Michelin star each, launched Ziya, which is now arguably the leading contemporary restaurant in Mumbai. It isn't just a one-way street; Rohit Khattar, the owner of the top Modern Indian in New Delhi (Indian Accent), also has a successful establishment in London (Chor Bizarre), while Trishna in Mumbai has an equally acclaimed branch in the U.K. capital.

The top three Modern Indian restaurants in India are considered to be Varq and Indian Accent in New Delhi, and Ziya in Mumbai. All three abjure the traditional way of sharing dishes, choosing instead to serve them fully plated in the European style. Food critics have seized on this culinary cross-pollination, calling it a "Frenchification," which is barely code for "inauthentic rubbish."

A recent article by Vir Sanghvi, India's most influential food critic, in the Hindustan Times's Brunch magazine has stirred the curry pot all the more, arguing that "No cuisine can advance on the basis of food made for foreigners, so the real evolution must happen in India and it must appeal to Indians." While he concedes that there are some great Modern Indian chefs in Britain, Mr. Sanghvi implies that their fame rests predominantly on their ability to tone down the spiciness of traditional Indian fare to literally make it more palatable for European sensibilities. Mr. Sanghvi told me that in his opinion, the top Indian chefs in London are forgetting what Indian food and flavors should be like. "To some extent what is happening in New Delhi and Bombay is mimicking Western presentation, but they are keeping the flavors more or less intact, whereas in London, they are merely appealing to Western sensibilities."

There is definitely a major cultural divide on this question, with many critics and leading Modern Indian chefs outside of India saying more subtle and complex flavors are able to emerge as the chili factor is toned down. "Indian cooks end up killing the birds and animals they serve twice—firstly, when they are slaughtered and secondly, when they cook them," says Atul Kochhar, owner of Benares, perhaps the most popular of the top Indian restaurants in London. "They need to wake up and learn how meat should be treated and then how to cook it with respect." Mr. Kochhar, along with Mr. Bhatia, were the first Indian-born chefs to win Michelin stars in London in 2001. Benares, Mr. Kochhar's establishment in the heart of Mayfair, serves superb Indian dishes, such as a tandoor grilled salmon with yogurt, paprika, mustard and lime leaf, and lamb cutlets with ginger, turmeric and peppercorns. There is no lack of traditional spices, but they do not sear the back of your throat.

Mr. Bhatia of Rasoi says the major disadvantage facing chefs in India is the quality of the produce. "That is why they use heavy spices because the produce is not of very good quality," he says. "When you have exceptionally good fish or meat, you want it to sing on its own, not be cloaked by heavy spices." The dishes at his Chelsea restaurant, such as a mushroom-encrusted chicken, have a precision more associated with French haute cuisine than traditional Indian fare. Mr. Bhatia, who also provides meals for British Airways' First Class, says he lost patience with diners who demanded curry and beer, so now doesn't serve either at Rasoi. "I tell them that we are a proper Indian restaurant, not a British curry house," he says. "I got so tired of people complaining that our rogan josh was not authentic because it wasn't floating in oil or have green and red chilies poking out of the top. I got around the problem by simply calling our version Kashmiri slow-cooked shank of lamb and that made it a lot easier."

Mr. Sanghvi, the critic, concedes that spices can conceal a product's original taste. "Indian food is so spice-heavy that it is virtually impossible to discern the difference between free range or farmed chicken or even whether it is from the breast or leg," he says. "However, the way ingredients are spiced is far more important than what they originally tasted like. On the other hand, the basic meat in virtually all Indian restaurants is goat, which is not available in London at all."


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